Review of RRS James Cook

RRS James Cook is a 2007-launched ice-strengthened research vessel serving as oceanographic survey ship homeported in Tilbury-London (England UK). Its sistership (with a similar design) is RRS Discovery (launched in 2013). RRS stands for "Royal Research Ship".

Royal research ships are the UK's merchant navy vessels conducting scientific research for the British Government (HMG). The list of organizations that are allowed to operate RRS vessels includes NERC (abbrev "Natural Environment Research Council"), BAS (abbrev "British Antarctic Survey") and NOC (abbrev "National Oceanography Centre"). However, a warrant from the British monarch has required a vessel to be designated as RRS. The UK's current fleet of Royal Research Ships includes the following vessels (the year built in brackets): RRS James Clark Ross (1990), RRS Ernest Shackleton (1995), RRS James Cook (2007), RRS Discovery (2013, sister-ship) and RRS Sir David Attenborough (2019).

This British research vessel is operated by the UK government agency NERC (abbrev from "Natural Environment Research Council"). The vessel is named after Captain James Cook (1728-1779) - British Navy captain, explorer, and cartographer.

RRS James Cook vessel details

This research ship features an ice-strengthened double hull and containerized labs that can be equipped depending on the nature of scientific activities on each cruise. The ship also has an advanced hydroacoustic system consisting of 2 echosounders plus 1 hydrophone (on the keel) and can operate one ISIS ROV (remotely operated underwater vehicle / robotic submarine) with max working load 4,5 tons.

Note: In the case of poor AIS coverage, tracking the vessel's current location will be impossible. You can see the CruiseMapper's list of all icebreakers and ice-breaking research ships in the "itinerary" section of our Icebreakers hub. All states and their fleets are listed there.

RRS James Cook wiki

RRS James Cook ship's superstructure was built by the Norwegian shipbuilder "Flekkefjord Slipp and Maskinfabrikk AS". The hull was constructed at the Gdansk Shipyard (in Gdansk Poland).

The ship was christened in February 2007 by godmother HRH Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise (Princess Royal).

This top-notch scientific research ship operates on worldwide scientific cruise itineraries. It specializes in measurements related to oceanic marine life (ecosystems) and seismic surveys (underwater earthquakes). In March 2007, while operating in the Caribbean Sea, the James Cook ship discovered the world's deepest undersea volcanic vents. Another important discovery was made in September 2015. While studying the Whittard Canyon's seabed (Bay of Biscay), the ship pictured the first blue whale (baleen whales) in British waters since these northeast Atlantic marine mammals were almost hunted to extinction.